Here We Have Idaho
by Simahoyo
Summary: Family antics drive Jane and Maura to a short vacation in Idaho. Will the Idahoans drive them crazy, or will they fit right in?
1. Chapter 1

**Here We Have Idaho**_, _**Chapter 1**

**by Simahoyo**

**Family antics drive Jane and Maura to a short vacation in Idaho. Will the Idahoans drive them crazy, or will they fit right in?**

_I had a banging headache, and hearing Hope and Cailin arguing about Cailin's schedule and Maura on the phone with Constance, well, my temper got the best of me, and it just popped out._

"God, Maur, I have had it with your family." _If I had been able to get away with it, I would have pushed the words back in my mouth and swallowed them._

Maura's eyes flipped up to me and filled with tears._ Had to open my big mouth. Time to retreat. _"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. Maybe I'd better go home."

Maura shook her head. " Mom, I have to take care of something. Could I please call you back? I love you too. Bye."

Maura looked into my eyes, then smirked. "Hey! Everybody who isn't a blood relative, please sit down!" I sat. Hope and Cailin stared at Maura in shock. "Now, I understand that you each think you are right. And that you might not want to hear from me, but since you have chosen my house to argue in, I believe I have to right to tell you what I think." _Go Maura_.

"Yeah, tell her to stop smothering me.", said Cailin.

Maura narrowed her eyes and glared. Hope shook her head.

"She's too young to be on her own."

"Enough. It's my turn to speak. I have spent 3 weeks with Cailin. She is responsible enough to set her own schedule." _I didn't know about that, but it was Maur's call._

"I told you so, Mom.", _Did I sound like that with Ma when I was nineteen? Hope and Ma were both helicopter Moms. The way Hope was acting, she was poised to grab Ma's title as the Queen Helicopter Mom. _

"But not responsible enough to live on her own.",_ Maura had her fact spouting voice going._

"Hey!",_ Poor Cailin wasn't expecting that._

"As long as I have to remind you to take your imuno-suppressors..."

"Now see, exactly my point. You need to stay at home until you are more able to be on your own." _Hope's voice grated on my last nerve._

"Hope, could you resist over scheduling Cailin if she stays at home?"

_Hope got that mulish look on her face that I knew meant she wasn't about to budge. Fortunately, I knew Maura could out stubborn anyone if she really wanted to. _

"I really don't believe that three weeks with Cailin qualifies you as an expert on her schedule."

"I'm not. She is. I just don't care to listen to the two of you argue about it in my home. If you won't solve this, I will. And neither of you will like it."

_Maura was showing her upbringing, and it made me like Constance even more. Besides, while the attitude was pure Constance, the choice was borrowed from Ma. If Maura had team colors, I'd root for her just like I do for the Sox. I knew I was grinning like a madwoman._

Cailin looked at Hope, back at Maura, at me, then back at Hope. Suddenly she caved. Shoulders fell, face crumpled, eyes down. "Okay, okay. I will show you my schedule and call if I need to change it. I will live at home, but you have to let me breathe." _The fire bounced back when she got to that last part, and Cailin reminded me of me. I gave her a thumbs up when Hope wasn't looking._

"Cailin, how will I know if you are doing what you have on your schedule? I know how I was at your age..."

"Hope, she will never learn to be independent if you don't let her do some things on her own. I was fine living away from home all through college." _Yeah, right. I remembered some of the crazy stuff Maura admitted to doing in college. I had to give her points for originality. I waited, and sure enough she was scratching her neck._

Hope opened her mouth and said, "Maybe we need another opinion." _What? Wait? I hope you mean Bass. _"Jane, what do you think?"_ I think I'd like to be away from here. I was invited to Idaho. That's nice and far away._

"Um, from what I've seen, Cailin is more responsible than I was at that age. And I was in junior college, plus I had a job, so...yeah, let her set her own schedule and if she screws up, go back to hove...I mean supervising her closely."

_Hope pinned me with a look, I looked back, trying for innocent._ Hope humphed,, turned to Cailin and said, "Fine." Then she went for the door. My inner brat was cheering. Cailin followed her, but she turned back, nodded at Maura and gave me a thumbs up Finally they left us in peace.

I heard Maura sigh. "Finally. I really could use some time away from my crazy family. I'm so sorry you had to deal with them."

"Isn't that usually my line? I mean, you put up with Ma's divorce, the whole deal with Tommy and TJ's baptism fiasco."

"Face it, Jane, we both have crazy families. I wish I could get out of Boston–out of New England altogether. Just for a few days."

"Perfect, because I was just going to tell you I have been invited to go to Idaho to visit a Facebook friend, and where I go, I invite you to go. How does that sound?"


	2. Chapter 2

Here We Have Idaho, Chapter 2

by Simahoyo

_We landed at the Boise Airport, grabbed our stuff and went down to wait for Mickey Dane, our host for the 4 day weekend. I had not shown Maura his picture mainly because I couldn't wait to see Maura's face. I knew he was sixty years old, balding, with long grey hair tied back with leather and two missing front teeth. He also was a Fox News fan._

_I had met him when he stood up for cops in some stupid Facebook argument. That was six years ago. Guess I have known him longer than I have known Maura. He could be annoying, but he was basically good people._

_I heard a truck backfire, and a half-ton pickup complete with rust and dents pulled up. Mickey was inside, grinning._

"Hi Jane. Hey, you must be Maura. "Hop in, and I'll get your stuff."_ I hoped it was a long ride because I could hear Maura grinding her teeth. Mickey was loading Maura's three suitcases into his truck, and my little bag. Maura was now hissing at me. Bad sign, that hissing. _

"Jane Rizzoli, what have you gotten us into? Did you even run his coat?"

"You mean his jacket? He's clean. I ran him when I first met him on Facebook. Calm down, he might not be an Esquire model, but he's real."

Mickey opened the door and jumped in. "Did ya miss me? You two had a long flight, and I bet you are starving. I know a great little place called Bar Gurnika. I'll take you there. I love September. Still hot, but starting to cool off. Perfect for fishing, tubing, horseback riding–do you want to go see a ghost town sometime this weekend?"

I smiled. "You don't talk much, do you?"

He laughed and slapped the steering wheel with one huge hand. "Oh yeah, I do go on. Southern roots. My grandad was from North Carolina."

I felt Maura stiffen in interest. "So was my grandmother. She came from a little town outside Charlotte."

"Grandad was from Lawndale. Yours?" He was sounding excited.

"Grandmother was from Cherryville. Her name was Dorthea Schuford."

"My grandad was a Hamrick. Related for sure. How about that?"

"Yeah, how about that, Maur'?", _I couldn't help adding. I knew that had almost won her over, but after flying coach from Logan airport, she hadn't been exactly thrilled. Maura was learning first hand how the rest of us vacationed. I felt a light slap on my arm, but she was smiling._

_We drove through some fields, and Mickey opened his window._ "That's mint growing. Smell that?"

_I did and it was amazing. I thought of cartoons where the character smelled something good and floated in the air following the scent. _

"There are geese out there, weeding the fields. You can see them out there. They hate mint, so they eat all the weeds. Pretty clever, huh?"

"That is clever. I never heard of this.", said Maura.

"Another factoid for your mental file, Maur'"

"Hell, I got a sister like that. Anything about history, or politics, or you name it. Her name is Cindy, and she graduated from Boise State in history. Now she's state chair of some socialistic party I don't agree with."

"How old is she?", asked Maura.

"Sixty-six. Old enough for Medicare, lucky her. If we can't stop Obamacare...I don't know what's going to happen,."

_Maura's face turned pink as her eyes narrowed. I took her hand, and whispered_, "Easy."

"Oh damn, I forgot you live in Massachusetts under Romneycare. Okay, we're in Boise, and heading to the Basque area. Maura, I bet you know who the Basques are, right?"_ I knew that was a peace offering from our host._

_Maura sat up in her Googlemouth stance, even though she was sitting. _"They are a people who originate in the Pyrenees between Spain and France. They are not related to either the French or the Spanish, instead being a unique culture and language."

"You got it. So they were imported to Idaho as expert sheepherders, and they have been doing it ever since. About a third of people in Idaho are Basque. They have made a huge contribution to Idaho's economy, food, education and dancing. Oh, yeah, and art too, music. Hey, we wouldn't be Idaho without them."

_We pulled into a parking place in front of a little hole in the wall place. Bar Gurnika. We went inside, and I watched to see Maura's reaction. She didn't even flinch. I had to give her points. Besides the smell was fabulous. It was spicy and herby, and definitely neither French nor Italian. My stomach was going to be very, very happy. _

_The place was crowded, but we found a waitress, who threaded between the tables, and found us a spot. We sat at the table and grabbed the menus the waitress slapped down. Maura thanked her, and I opened up to see what there was to eat. I went right to the Basque sandwiches, and ran into trouble. _

"Hey,Mickey, What's a Solomo? What's a Chorizo?"

"Solomo is pork loin. Real good. Has pimentos and onion in it. Chorizo is a special sausage that is super hard to get, even though the Spanish and Mexicans call their sausage chorizo, they aren't. And I hate when Emeril Legossi calls it, 'Shuriso'.".

"I remember your lesson on how to pronounce Boise. I never knew how to say it right before. I still recall, 'There is no Z in Boise.'".

"Oh, I didn't know that.", said Maura. _She ordered the lamb kabob and salad with a cup of soup and wine. Mickey went for the Double Solomo sandwich soup and fries. I finally got the Chorizo and double fries, Maura flipped me a questioning look, and I read her mind. _

"No, I don't want greens. I'm on vacation." _When my food arrived, I cut off a taste for Maura, and put it on her plate. She gave me a bite of her Kabob, and Mickey cut off a bit of his Solomo sandwich for each of us. I had to laugh when Mickey and I both had coffee. The food was delicious. I had never tasted anything like it. I ate every bite, and had to push Maura away as she was encroaching on my fries again._

After dinner, we drove out to where we were going to stay. We went out along a river, up a winding road with a sheer cliff on one side. I noticed Mickey was speeding. He pointed up to a mesa. "Up there is the oldest geothermal plant in the United States. It heats all the houses on the mesa, plus down to the whole East end, and it even keeps Warm Springs Avenue ice and snow free all winter."

_Maura was stocking up on factoids enough for a month at this rate. We left Boise, and followed a chain of dams. _

"The cabin belongs to friends of mine and they rent it out to people if somebody they know introduces them. It's a great place, near Idaho City. The roads are, well, typical Idaho, is all I can say. I'd better slow down. I lost my front teeth about a mile from here because I forgot Idaho's number one unwritten traffic law."

"Which is?", I asked.

"Always come to a complete stop before engaging your turn signal."

_I could imagine the shock of my front teeth against a steering wheel. I shuddered in sympathy. Maura turned pale. Mickey chuckled. We went about a mile when we ran into a huge flock of sheep in front of us. Mickey slowed, then stopped. A man on a horse came up to the window._

"Hey Carlos. These your sheep?", asked Mickey.

"Yup. Moving them to a lower pasture. Gotta get them away from dry tinder before fire season gets too bad. How's your sister?"

"Julie's fine. Raising horses now, over in Horseshoe Bend. Boards some for rich people , and lets handicapped kids ride them."

"Tell her, 'Hi.' for me, will ya?" And he rode ahead to move the sheep along.

"That was Carlos Anchustigui. I went to high school with him. He was always sweet on my little sister. Congratulations, by the way."

"What for?", I asked.

"You've just been in your first Idaho traffic jam."

_Shortly after, we got another taste of driving in Idaho. There was a dirt road going up a steep grade in the trees. We were about halfway up when a school bus appeared at the top headed down. The road was too narrow to pull over, so Mickey just shifted into reverse, and went right down the road as well as if he was driving forward. He was an excellent driver._

_The bus passed and we started back up. There as a little turn to the right, and a super nice cabin that even Maura would approve of came into sight. A couple was standing in front, waiting for us. One was a tall guy in levis and plain cowboy boots with a western shirt. His face was red with sunburn, and a beard covered his face. The woman was probably his wife. She was wearing a denim shirt, India print blouse, and Doc. Martins. She was tanned and windburned. They looked to be about Ma's age. A big black lab ran around barking, and made me miss Jo Friday._


	3. Chapter 3

Here We Have Idaho, Chapter 3

By Simahoyo

_Mickey stopped his truck and jumped out._ "DeeOHgee!_ Here boy." He slapped his knees and the dog came running. Mickey played with the dog, then hugged the woman and clasped hands hard with the man. Mickey walked back to his truck and leaned in, as the others followed._

"Jane and Maura, these are my friends, Matt and Babe." _Mickey moved aside, as Matt leaned in and grinned at us, waving. He moved so that Babe could lean in._ "Hi there. Come on out and we'll get you settled." _I went to open the door when the dog jumped up and leaned in the window._

_I had to laugh._ "Hi there, Deeohgee.",_ and I petted him. He backed off so that Maur' and I could get out. The smell of the pines hit me, and I looked around at a mix of Ponderosa and Lodgepole pines. The Lodgepoles were screeing like they had a lot to tell us. I could hear birds, and the air was so clear I could see the pines all the way across the mountains–miles away, and perfectly formed._

_Maura climbed out and smiled at our hosts._ "Hello. I'm Maura. It's nice to meet you."_ She would have beautiful manners if there was an earthquake going on. Suddenly Maura looked around and stopped everything._ "This is...amazing."_ She stared at the scenery for about a full minute. Her face completely relaxed, which is what I was hoping for when I asked her to join me here. I was kinda proud of myself. Deeohgee bumped her legs gently for attention, and Maura turned to provide proper dog admiration. After the scratching and petting, Deeohgee let her be._

_Babe was the one to break the spell._ "Let's go in and I'll show you the place. My great-grandfather built it during the Great Depression, paying CCC volunteers during their time off. All the logs and stone come from the land right here. The concrete was wiped from the CCC."_ I felt my eyebrows raise at the blatant admission of theft of government property._ "Grandpa had found a seam of silver ore in an abandoned mine, and worked it. Since the whole place was deserted, he and his brother bought it all. Not just this land, but all of Idaho City."

_We walked into a large open room with a stone fireplace, decorated with paintings, originals. Which stopped Maura in her tracks._ "Oh, how nice. Louis Peck..." _She turned to another with bright flowers in surreal colors_. "Laura Cunningham. I love her work. Are they from Idaho?"

_Matt looked embarrassed._ "Yeah, my Dad knew them both and gave those paintings to us for a wedding present."_ Obviously there was more to these people than you could see on the outside. There was a little kitchen, almost as big as the one in my condo, and wooden stairs leading up to two large bedrooms, and a bathroom with shower and tub. The decor screamed 1930's, but I couldn't tell if it was restored or original._

Babe started her history lesson again. "By the time I inherited this place, the bathroom was really bad, so Matt and I, along with Mickey and Cash Fong restored it. Cash got his nickname because he can find anything, literally knows everybody in the area, and always pays cash to get it cheaper. And thank God, Mickey insists on quality. Besides, it was fun."

_Now I was wondering few things_. "Babe, do you and Matt own this whole area now?

Babe grinned. "Nope, Grandpa got tired of dealing with all this extra land, so we sold it to his brother, and kept the good part. My Dad sold about fifty acres to a Boy Scout camp, and we have a couple of hundred left. Uncle Areill got lonely, living up in Idaho City by himself, so he paid people to move back and re-populated the city. His kids still own cabins down by the river."

_I could see Maura storing up yet another factoid. She was enjoying this._

_We trooped back downstairs, and Matt opened the fridge and a cupboard to show us that they had stocked food for us._ "We knew you didn't have transportation, so we stocked up for you. And make Mickey take you to Diamond Lil's for supper before he leaves."

_Babe pulled out a cell phone with that little cube thingee that takes credit cards, I really tried to beat Maura to it, but she's fast. I made a pouty face at her, but she just smiled._ "You paid with airline miles. It's my turn."_ Babe raised an eyebrow at Mickey._ "Do they remind you of anybody?"

Mickey sputtered. "I have no idea who you mean."

_Everyone was turning to leave when Matt turned back._ "I almost forgot to tell you to watch out for Artie."

"Artie?", I asked. "Is he the resident ghost?"

_Matt shook his head_. "Nope. He's a really ambitious pack rat. Lock up anything shiny. He once stole a pocket watch, chain and all. Sounded like Jacob Marley dragging his chains. Maura, he'd love that big ole watch. Well, we gotta go. Have a good time."_ And they trooped out._

**Later that same night.**

_I couldn't believe how wiped out I was by the time we ate, did the dishes, and locked up everything shiny. I had to remind Maura about her badge. I climbed into the comfy bed and was out like a light._

_It was dark as hell when my eyes flipped open. I could hear something in my room. I hadn't brought my gun, so I laid still, listening. There was a slight pulling on my blanket, then I felt a weight crawling up my body._

"Maur', Maura."_ I was getting really nervous. I am not a fan of rats. I never let people know that the badass Detective Rizzoli was scared of rats, but the thing was on my chest. I sat up and yelled_. "Maur'! There a rat on me."

_I heard her come running. She flipped the light on, and there was Artie, my miraculous medal in his teeth. She walked right up to the little devil, and picked him up, removing the medal from his teeth._ "Shame on you, Artful Dodger."_ He squirmed, and she held him all the way to the front door and then I heard the door open, then shut. Maura was back after I heard her wash her hands. I was in the act of removing the blanket from my bed, when she walked back in. Maur' was grinning._

"He was aptly named. You might want to clean your medal."_ I almost ripped it off my neck. I used alcohol pads that Maura handed me from her purse. I was shivering._ "I hate rats! You won't tell anyone, will you? I'd hate it if Frost or Korsak or Crowe–oh God, Crowe would never let it go."

"Jane. I promise, I won't tell." Maura crossed her heart and I finally relaxed."But it won't stop me from teasing you in private."


	4. Chapter 4

Here We Have Idaho, Chapter 4

by Simahoyo

_The next morning came without anymore visits from Artie, thank God. After a nervous hour, I finally slept, and I felt okay when I smelled coffee. I got up and used the bathroom, showered and then dressed. I wasn't sure what Mickey had in mind for the day, so I figured jeans, tee shirt and sneakers would suffice. I followed the aroma of coffee to the kitchen, where Maura was scrambling eggs, which I hoped meant she was making one of her yummy omelets_

"Omelet?",_ I asked as I poured myself some coffee. _

"Ah, it's my damsel in distress. How did you sleep?"

"Shut up.",_ I pretended to snarl. Maur' just laughed._ "Cheese, or tomato?", she asked. "Cheese.", _we said together. Knows me like a book._

_After breakfast, Mickey knocked at the door. We asked him in, poured him coffee, and waited for his plans for our day._

"Okay, ladies. Choose which you want to do first. Ghost town or tubing down the Boise River."

"Ghost town.", said Maura. _I agreed and we headed for the truck. Before we got in, Mickey looked at our shoes, and shook his head._ "Those won't work. Do you have hiking shoes or something like that? Some of the trails are pretty rough."

"Uh, no. I didn't think of that.", I looked at Maura. _She shook her head, but I knew that glint in her eye. She was thinking about shoe shopping."_

"We could stop at Hap Tallman's and buy you some boots if you like." _Maura actually squealed and clapped her hands. I mentally counted my money. Since Maur' covered the cabin, I could manage. _"Okay."_ I said, but I made sure I sounded reluctant. Can't mess up my anti-shopping image._

_We drove into Boise, up a hill, and through a newish area. We parked in front of a big store with a western theme, and when we went inside, my eyes bugged out. I never saw so many cowboy hats, belts, shirts, boots and stuff I didn't even know the name of. Maura grabbed my arm in excitement. _"Oh wow. I love this place."_ She sounded like she does when she sees a man she likes. I turned to Mickey for advise. He lead me over to the boots and pointed to some like his._

"Frye boots. People here love them. Sturdy, strong, great for hiking, working, horseback riding–you name it." I noticed they were really plain, with boot straps. "Hey, now I know what bootstraps look like." Mickey laughed. Maura was lovingly stroking the super fancy ones. Mickey chuckled. "Maura, if you buy those people will think you're a Californian. The heels are for stirrups. You need boots for hiking. I'd look at these hiking boots, or the ones with a minimum of stitching."

_Maura came over and checked the ones Mickey pointed out. She finally decided on a few, and we sat down and tried them on. Mine fit perfectly. And the price didn't scare me too much. It might be a fun souvenir too. Maybe the guys would quit riding me about my old boots. _

_Maura sat, surrounded by the boots like a mom with little kids. She took her time, while Mickey and I looked at hats and saddles. Finally, she decided on two pair, and we bought our boots. Mickey showed us how to massage them so we wouldn't get blisters. Then we were off to the ghost town._

_I'll admit I expected something like a movie set, but we went down some bad roads. Idaho apparently isn't big on road repair. It ended in a pair of ruts in the dirt with weeds sweeping under the truck. We pulled up between a couple of old buildings with the paint worn off. Windows were gone, and when I looked inside, wallpaper covered the walls. It was a small place, with a rusty set of bed springs, and table with no varnish left on it, and weeds growing inside. There was a picture of Saint Bernadette on the wall. _

_Maura was standing next to me, quiet. She touched my arm._ "It's almost as if they just left."

_I looked at her and nodded. Mickey looked too. _"I had my sister find one that was actually abandoned. Cindy was a title searcher before she retired, so this is the genuine article. I checked everything out twice before I brought you here. And I wanted you in boots just in case of rattlers."

"Isn't it amazing, Maur', that we don't find out about the rats and snakes until it's too late.", _but I grinned so he knew I was kidding._

"You have to see this one.", _said Mickey heading to a squat building with peeling white paint and stone steps leading up to it. A broken window let centuries of dust in, while the door hung off it's hinges. I stepped in, and Maura followed, with Mickey bringing up the rear. There was a counter with enough dust to plant marigolds in, and shelves covered with tins of food. _"It's a grocery store."

"Food still on the shelves. How sad. Was there a disaster?", asked Maura. Mickey looked troubled. "Yeah, but it tells us too much about human nature for my taste. The gold played out. Funny thing was, they kept finding these white rocks in the way, and tossed them into the tailings. It was silver ore. But they all left for the next gold strike."_ I had to agree with him. Humans chasing money, and leaving valuable things behind. It's what I see every day at work._

_We were thinking hard when we came up on a bigger place, with a sign tacked on the door. It was so old it was hard to read, but Maura finally made it out._ "I got no gold or whiskey. I took the gold to town to buy more whiskey." "Must be the saloon.", said Mickey and we went in. _Under the dirt was a long bar, complete with a brass bar rail. Dusty bottles of liquor still lined shelves above the bar, and an old brass cash register sat on the counter. _"I'm surprised no one has stolen everything here."

"No one would do that. It's stealing from history. The only thing people do is take from their trash. If we check their trash piles, I'll bet all the whole bottles and interesting things are gone. And the tailings are fair game, but nothing else."

"Is that another unwritten law?", I asked. He grinned showing his missing teeth. ""Yup. Get ready to hike, the rest of the interesting stuff is on the hill."

_It wasn't a bad hike, but Mickey was right, the trail was pretty rough. Somehow I managed to make it without attracting and snakes or rats. And those boots worked great. Rusting machinery perched on the hill. I had a picture in my head from western movies of Miners kneeling by a stream with big pie pans looking for gold, but these machines were huge._

_Mickey looked at one, nodded his head toward it and said,_ "Ore crusher." By a little stream was another he called a, "Sluicing machine." And the ones that looked like gigantic upside down bowls were smelters. Then he showed us the mine. Maura was stepping really close to it when he stopped her. "It isn't safe. The scaffolds are over a hundred years old. Besides, bats like to sleep in them." Maura backed away fast.

Mickey lead us to a big pile of rocks. "Tailings. We can take a souvenir, because it's trash." He reached down and picked up a little grey rock with some white streaked across it. "Jane, silver ore." I took it, and it was heavier than it looked. Maura looked into the pile and picked up a very small grey, slightly crumbly rock with yellow stains on it. "Hey, Maura, you found both silver and gold."

"Figures. Those Isles, everything they touch..." Maur' slapped at me, laughing. Mickey picked up a grey rock at random, and turned it over when a funny look appeared on his face. "Look at that"

There was a little red spot the size of a pencil eraser. "That's garnet. I'm saving that for the next time me sister yells at me." Let's go get some lunch, then we can meet my sister for tubing."

**A/N Thanks for your reviews and follows. I'm thrilled you like this. I know these people. I am these people. Next chapter, meet Julie, Mickey's sister.**


	5. Chapter 5

Here We Have Idaho, Chapter 5

by Simahoyo

**A/N I tried an experiment after reading some books written in first person. Let me know it this is easy enough to follow.**

We ate lunch in a little town filled with fruit trees. Cherries and plums were on the trees, and the great diner disguised as a drive in served up chicken fried steak, with homemade gravy, and lots of fries. And yes, Maur' gave me the stink eye about eating them. I have to say, I kinda enjoyed it when she ordered a baked potato, and when she went to cut it open with a knife, Mickey just about jumped across the table to stop her.

"NO! Never open a baked potato with a knife. Use a fork." Everyone around us was staring at her. She picked up the fork and followed Mickey's directions as he gave them. "First, make a series of holes with the tines in a line–about three forks worth. Now turn the fork to a 90 degree angle and do each end of the first line. Good job. Now, take each end of the potato and push towards the center until the inside fluffs up. Perfect." Maura looked embarrassed, then proud. She buttered it, then tasted. She looked at the potato with her head cocked to one side. "It is different, texturally. I like it better."

By the time we got to Boise, and the river, Mickey parked the truck next to an old clunker with a rack on top filled with inner tubes. A woman, thin, with sharp features and still beautiful though in her 50's, leaned against the car, tapping her sneaker clad foot.

"There you are. About time. Why didn't you tell me the tubes all needed patching? It took me an hour to do them all."

"Uh, Jane and Maura, this is my sister Julie." Julie smiled sincerely, and extended her hand to each of us. "It's nice to meet you. We always leave one car at our exit spot, and ride up together to Diversion Dam."

"Then why aren't you parked at Ann Morrison Park?"

"Because Dad said the undertows are too dangerous and we need to get off here."

"Yeah, yeah. Toss those in the back, Julie, and I'll make room for you in the cab.

Maura helped Mickey pull out the shelf that was covering the extra seat in the truck cab, while I assisted Julie with the huge inner tubes. They weren't heavy, but they were so awkward, it took awhile to wrestle them into place. "I hear you're a cop. That takes some guts, especially in a big city." I shrugged. "I guess so. I like to catch the bad guys. Since I work homicide, those are really bad guys."

"Yeah, I get that. I used to work so many hours–corporate computer stuff. I never got to know myself until I quit and started doing what I wanted. Now I only do an occasional job for somebody for extra money, and that's it."

We piled into Mickey's truck and took off, following the river. By the time we got to Diversion Dam, it was getting hot. We changed from boots to sneakers, and set the tubes into the water. I laid on my stomach, draped over the tube. I'm long enough that it works great. Poor Maur' is too small for that, so she stuck her butt inside and hung on to the tube. I decided I'd better keep an eye on her. Julie spread her long legs, and navigated with her arms. It didn't look too comfortable, but she seemed to know what she was doing. Mickey plunked himself inside, hung over the side and we took off. The water was cool, and the sun was hot. We floated down the middle of the river, following lazy turns. The scenery was so nice, willows near the water, cottonwoods further out, and pines hugging the mountains. There was a road most of the way along with us. We shouted to each other just for fun. And sometimes we bounced with the current.

I could see Boise coming up fast, as the current sped up. We got to the place Julie was parked, and Julie and Maura headed for the riverbank. I was paddling my way there when I noticed Mickey stubbornly headed further downstream. I knew Maura was a strong swimmer, so I just watched Mickey. His tube took an angled dip to one side, turned over and he was caught in an undertow. I let go of my tube, and swam for him as he flailed in the water. I grabbed him with one arm behind his head, and pulled him out, and back toward Julie and Maur'. We finally go on the bank and Mickey was coughing. Julie stalked up to him, fire in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Mickey nodded, which got him a slug to his shoulder. "You dummy! You could have drown! You know better than that. If you die, when you come back to see me, I'm ignoring you." Mickey hung his head. "I'm sorry, Jules. I just wanted to make it all the way to Ann Morrison Park." "Ha, maybe you won't, but it looks like those tubes will." I could just see them floating down the river.

I knew Julie was a take charge type, which she proved by her next words. "Jane, thanks for saving my fool brother. I'll drive. Maura, do you mind taking the back seat?" We all jumped in and chased the tubes down the river. They were in the third park, and I could not believe how slow Julie was driving. "Ten miles an hour? Really? Are they kidding?" Okay, I was impatient. I hate driving slow.

"They ticket everyone who goes even one mile an hour faster. I even got one on in line skates. I'm going the speed limit." Finally, almost at the end of the park, two guys were guarding our tubes. Julie pulled up and got out. "These yours?", they asked. They looked like college kids, since one was wearing a BSU t shirt and the other had on one with Greek letters.

"Yeah, thanks guys. I really appreciate it." I got out and joined her so the tubes could be tied onto their carrier. The guys waved and took off. I peeked inside the truck and saw Maura lecturing Mickey on water safety. Good ole Maur'. She's dependable as hell. I turned back to Julie.

"Where can we get something to eat?" She laughed. "Made you hungry saving Mick, huh? There's a collection of places at the SUB on campus. Way better than in my day. Saga Foods. It was the worst. Their favorite meal was beaded surprise. I swear the took the paper on the bottom of packages of meat, ground it up and breaded it for us to eat."

"But we are soaked." "We can eat it outside. I'm not through punishing my brother yet." I laughed. "Oh, I get it. I have two brothers." Julie shook her head in sympathy. "I feel your pain. Better plan to get up early tomorrow. Mickey will try to impress you."


	6. Chapter 6

Here We Have Idaho, Chapter 6

by Simahoyo

It was our last full day in Idaho, so Maura and I made sure we didn't leave any opened food in the fridge. When Mickey got there, I remembered what Julie had mentioned about trying to impress us. He was as excited as a kid. I handed him a cup of coffee. "How about horseback riding today? Julie raised horses, and I'm sure she'd love to have you..."I raised my hand to stop him. "Does she know about this?", I asked. All those years with Tommy had taught me caution. Mickey did a double take. "Hey, she's my sister. It'll be fine." I looked at Maura. She got out her cell phone. "Why not call her now?", she asked. I guess she's learning from Cailin.

Mickey backed away from Maura's phone. "Uh, no thank you. I uh, maybe we could go fishing. Yeah. Have you even been trout fishing? I'll call Julie and ask her if she wants to go with us. Okay?" Maura and I agreed, and Mickey made arrangements. Afterwards, he approached us carefully. "How did you know I hadn't asked her?" I laughed. "Two brothers." He turned to Maur'. "And you?" "Nineteen year old sister." He shook his head. "That explains a lot. I have to go back to my place for fishing stuff. I'll be back." and off he went.

It wasn't long after when I heard a motor coming up the drive. "Is Mickey back already?", I asked Maura. "No, that's not his motor. It's an SUV, not a truck." She peeked out the window. "Oh, It's Babe." She opened the door before Babe knocked. "Hi. Come in." Babe was smiling. "You took good care of the place. I appreciate that. Are you having a good time?" "Oh yeah. I can't believe how much there is to do here." "Good, good. Did Artie bother you?"

I pulled my miraculous medal out and showed her. "He tried to steal this right off my neck." Babe looked really distressed. "I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" I could laugh, finally. "Yeah, but Maura saved me. She carried him outside and I haven't seen him since." What did you do to him, Maur'?" Maura smiled mysteriously. "I left him shiny things. I found aluminum foil in the kitchen, and I made him little treasures, and I leave some outside each day. I'm sure he has quite a collection by now." "That's the first time anyone has outsmarted him. Since you are leaving tomorrow, I thought I'd invite you to dinner at our place. Mickey and Julie too, if they are around. I haven't seen Julie in, I don't know, way too long. How's eight o'clock? Does that work for you?"

"That's fine.", I said after looking at Maura to confirm. Babe grinned. "How long have you two known each other? You communicate really well." "About six years, we work together, and see each other every day. How long have you known Mickey and Julie?" Babe laughed. "Since high school. I had to take the bus all the way down to Boise because we hadn't built a high school up here yet. I met Julie first, then Mickey, and they introduced me to Matt." I was amazed. I still know some people I grew up with, but Casey is the only one I still see. "That's a long time.", said Maura. "I never used to make friends easily. I was a bit of a loner."Babe nodded, seriously. "So was I, but Julie and Mickey wouldn't let me." Maura laughed. "Neither will the Rizzolis. Thank God for people who drag us into friendships." Babe nodded enthusiastically. I could hear Deeohgee scratching at the door. "I'd better go before Deeohgee tries to move in on you two. See you at eight."

About an hour later, which told me Mickey was speeding again, his truck appeared in the drive. There were fishing poles sticking out of the back of his truck. Maur' and I went out to talk to him since it was a really nice day. We sat on the boulders someone had set in concrete (No doubt stolen from the CCC) and talked. "Babe invited us to dinner at eight, which includes you and Julie." "Hot damn. She's a great cook. Wonder what she's making. It won't be fish, because she knows that's what we'll be eating for lunch." Maura swung her legs because she couldn't reach the ground. "Did you and Julie attend high school at the same time?" Mickey looked a bit sheepish as he nodded. "Yeah, well, I got sort of expelled for having a water fight on the third floor of Boise High. It put me back a year, and my Dad got mad, and made me work to pay for the damages."

"Damages? I can't imaging a little water fight could cause much in damages.", said Maura. Mickey grinned. "Well, it can if you use fire hoses." I couldn't help myself, I laughed so hard I almost fell off the boulder. "Sounds like something my brother Tommy would do." Mickey agreed. "Yeah, I really got in trouble that time. It taught me to quit fooling around and get serious, but not that serious. I think I hear Julie coming." The chug, chug of her car proceeded her up that hill. She parked it and got out, smiling at us all. She poked Mickey in the chest. "Hey, Dummy. Did you remember they need fishing licences? It's Sunday, you know." "Two words, Dusty Rhoades. We go down there, get them fishing licences, grab some beer, and snacks, and off we go." Julie humphed. "I'm not digging worms or tying flies." "I'll get them from Dusty's. Let's go." So we all jumped into his truck and drove off.

We went down the road a couple of miles, and pulled in to a small grocery store, bait shop, everything joint called "Dusty Rhoades.". We all trooped in. The guy behind the counter looked pretty old, with white hair, bloodshot eyes, and one crutch leaning against the counter. He looked up at us. "Hey Mick, Jules. Other folks. What you need?" Mickey nodded at him. "Dusty. How's your leg?" "Hurts like hell, if it's all the same to you. Going fishing? I got licences, bait, and since it's Sunday, I have to tell you I can't sell you no beer." "I know. Yeah, these fine ladies need fishing licences. Would you fix them up, please?"

Dusty pulled out fishing licences and forms for us to sign. While we were occupied, Julie and Mickey picked out a small tin of bait, two sixpacks of beer and two packages of beer nuts. Maura gave me a look. I wondered about that too. We paid Dusty, and turned back to see what was up. Dusty ran up the bait, then one package of beer nuts, for an astonishing $14. "Okay, the sixpack of beer is free with the beer nuts." Aha. Then I got it. A legal way around the law. Very smart. While Julie rang up her beer, Maura wandered over to the wine, picked out a small bottle, and asked, "Is there a special I could get this with for free?" Dusty nodded. Yup. One loaf of Sheepherder bread for twenty five dollars." Maura laughed, and paid up. "I'm looking forward to trying Idaho wine."

We drove to some place called Robie Creek, and as we parked, Mickey told Julie. "It's right where you treed the fish" I wasn't sure I heard right. "Treed a fish?" Julie blushed. "I was seven, and I was excited. I yanked it out of the water, and it landed in that tree." She pointed at a big pine. "And I had to climb up and get it for her. Fortunately, it was just long enough. Oh hell, I forgot a ruler." Maura reached into her purse, and pulled out a ruler. I was suspicious enough to ask, "You don't use that for work, do you?" Maura glared at me. "No, I use it for measuring clothing." "Sorry, Maur'."

We fished for a couple of hours before each of us had caught at least two fish. Mickey set up a little fire, and Maura cleaned the fish, while Julie showed me how to cut green sticks and poke them through the fish to cook them. When they were cooked, we used tin plates to hold them and ate with our fingers. The fish was smoky and better than any I have eaten in years. The beer wasn't bad either. Mickey and Julie told funny stories about growing up together. I noticed Maura was thinking, maybe about Cailin. I hoped so. A lot about family is remembering the crazy things that you didn't think much of at the time. Like TJ's baptism. Something tells me that will be a story he'll hear all about growing up. It was getting late , and we had an appointment with dinner, so we took off for Matt and Babe's house.

It was really in the back country. By the time we got there, I was starving again. Maybe it was the altitude. Finally, we approached a huge stone house lit up like Christmas. There were two stories, windows the size of Maura's walk in closet, and trees cozying up to anyplace where a window wasn't. I knew Babe's family had money, but wow. We parked in the circular drive. Deeohgee came running out to greet us. As each of us got out of the truck, Deeohgee Made sure to jump up and lick us enthusiastically. I was surprised Maura put up with it, but she seemed to like him. I made a bet with myself as to how fast Maur' would be washing her hands. The front door opened and Matt peeked out followed by a delicious aroma of something beefy.

"Come on in, everybody. Babe made enough for an army. How you're hungry." We trooped in, and Maura asked to wash her hands. I glanced at my watch, under five minutes. Maur' started a trend, and by the time we all used the facilities, Babe had a table coth out and was covering the most gorgeous table I have ever see. It was a slab cut from a tree, and varnished to a sheen that showed off the rings in the wood. I could place the wood. So I asked. "Ask Matt, he made it." "Really? It's so beautiful. Matt, you're an artist. What type of wood did you use?", I asked. The man's face lit up. "It's Hackberry. Found a big old one up in the hills that got hit by lightning, so I took it down and made the table out of it." Maura examined the table before Babe put the tablecloth on. "This is exquisite. Is this your art?" I was helping set the table as Matt was telling Maura about his adventures in woodworking. "I'm the odd man out in my family. Everyone else works for the family business." "Oh, what's that?" Maur' was just about interviewing him. Babe leaned in and commented, "He's a Morrison." Maur's eyebrows went up, questioning. "Something makes me think that's something like being an Isles, Maura.", I said. Matt did a double take. "Are you Constance's daughter?"


	7. Chapter 7

Here We Have Idaho, Chapter 7

by Simahoyo

Maua had that deer caught in headlights look. I knew she had thought no one here knew her family–wrong. Maura sighed. "Yes, I am. How do you know her?" Matt chuckled. My dad is on the board at BAM, Boise Art Museum. Your mother is a little hard to forget. She was putting in an installation, and broke a piece." Maura laughed. "You got a French language lesson, I take it."

"Yup. She told me her husband asked her not to swear in front of you when you were little, and so she switched to French." I hadn't heard that little detail from either one of them. "My first word in French was, '_merde_.'", Maura confessed.

"She brags about you. Did you know that?" Maura got that teary voice. "No, I didn't." "I heard all about her daughter the Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."

"I don't want to hear about it until dinner is over.", said Babe, and we all sat down. There was thin sliced roasted meat hollowed in the middle and filled with stuffing, gravy, roasted vegetables, caramelized perfectly –potatoes, onions, carrots, beets, so tender and sweet, I kept going back for more. "Babe, I don't know how you did it, but Jane never eats vegetables if she can help it. Please tell me how you did those." Babe nodded and smiled. "What is the meat", I asked as I took another portion. "Beef heart." I put down my fork, shrugged, and started eating it again. "I don't care. It's really good."

I almost didn't want to leave, but it was back to work, and I love my job. I wore my new cowboy boots to work, and sure enough Frost was the first one to notice. "Rizzoli finally got new boots. Oh, check those out. You could break some perp's shin with those. And they look like you can run in them." Korsak leaned over to look. "You get those in Idaho?" I nodded. "Anything else?", he asked. So I showed him my miraculous medal and told him the story of Artie the pack rat, minus my screaming for Maura to save me. Frankie sneaked up behind me and tried to scare me, so I punched his arm, but not hard. "You have fun, Sis?" So I brought out the pictures, and passed them around until Maura wandered up with Cailin. I raised an eyebrow.

"I decided to spend more time with Cailin. We need some family stories to remember.." "Yeah, but are you positive that someday I'll laugh at Mom smothering me?" I lowered my voice conspiratorially. "I hope so. Still waiting in my case.".

END


End file.
